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The order from the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts takes effect April 22. Zohydro ER was approved for sale last fall by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Zohydro ER is an opioid containing an extended-release form of hydrocodone, the first FDA-approved hydrocodone product that doesn't contain acetaminophen, which can damage the liver

The drug can help chronic pain patients who are prescribed hydrocodone function better throughout the day, says its maker, San Diego-based Zogenix. Opponents of the drug say it is a tempting target for abuse with no real medical need. Physicians who specialize in pain management say Zohydro may be useful for a certain fraction of patients.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick issued an executive order March 27 banning Zohydro ER. The state's Department of Public Health promptly enacted the ban.

Patrick said Zohydro ER is too dangerous because it doesn't employ abuse-deterrent technology. He declared a "public health emergency" in response to what he described as an epidemic of opioid abuse-related deaths.

However, U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel suggested last week that Patrick's constitutional authority to block a decision by a federal agency was dubious. In her ruling Tuesday, Zobel said Patrick lacked the power to nullify a federal decision.

"When the Commonwealth interposed its own conclusion about Zohydro ER’s safety and effectiveness by virtue of DPH’s emergency order, did it obstruct the FDA’s Congressionally-given charge? I conclude that it did," Zobel stated in the decision.

"If the Commonwealth were able to countermand the FDA’s determinations and substitute its own requirements, it would undermine the FDA’s ability to make drugs available to promote and protect the public health," she stated, finding that Zogenix was likely to prevail in its challenge.

Patrick said he was disappointed, arguing that the ruling places commercial interests above the public’s health.

“Addiction is a serious enough problem already in Massachusetts without having to deal with another addictive narcotic painkiller sold in a form that isn’t tamper proof,” Patrick said in a statement. “We will turn our attention now to other means to address this public health crisis.”

"The court decision today supports the importance of upholding the constitutional principle at the heart of this case," Zogenix said. "... Allowing states to overturn the decisions of medical and scientific professionals at the FDA, which is the federal agency Congress has authorized to regulate matters involving patient safety and the effectiveness of medications, would set an alarming precedent with respect to the federal regulation of access to new prescription medications."

Opposition to Zohydro has come from a number of sources, including the attorneys general of 28 states, certain members of Congress such as U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and various activist groups.

Opioids are the most-widely prescribed class of drugs in the United States. Opioid overdose deaths have risen from 4,030 cases in 1999 to 16,651 in 2010, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But in mid-March, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg defended Zohydro ER before a Senate committee. Hamburg said the drug fills a need for patients who lack other effective pain-control alternatives. About 100 million adult Americans live with chronic pain, according to a 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine.